Deathscapes

Ms Dhu 12b - Solidarity from Nauru

Solidarity from Nauru

4 August 2016 marked the second anniversary of Ms Dhu’s death in custody. It also marked 138 days of peaceful protests on Nauru and 1111 days in detention for adults and children who were forcibly transferred to Nauru by the Australian government. On this day, people incarcerated in the Nauru family camp held signs that read, ‘We Stand With Aboriginal Australia’.

On seeing the photos of this protest, Shaun Harris, Uncle of Ms Dhu, expressed a message of thanks for the show of solidarity which was relayed to an activist in the Nauru camp. At the protest the following day, people chanted ‘Ms Dhu, Ms Dhu, Rest in Peace’ alongside chants for asylum seekers who had died in immigration prisons, including Reza Barati, Fazal Chegani, Omid Masoumali, Rakib Khan and Hamid Khehazaei.

‘Please send them love from all the people in Nauru.’

Eli Shakiba (activist held on Nauru)

The First Nations Deaths in Custody Watch Committee and Refugee Rights Action Network WA released a joint media statement articulating the shared struggle against deaths in police custody and deaths in immigration detention.